Abstract: To provide a pharmaceutical product or food which has an excellent fat-accumulation-inhibiting activity and/or fat-metabolism-improving activity and which is effective for inhibition or improvement of obesity, fatty liver, etc. The present invention provides an agent for preventing or ameliorating obesity containing, as an active ingredient, cells of a lactic acid bacterium belonging to the genus Pediococcus, a cell culture thereof, or an extract of any of these.

Abstract: A diesel particulate filter (“DPF”) including vertically and horizontally stacked cells in which all of vertical and horizontal sides are surrounded by walls formed of a porous material, and sealing end faces of the cells alternately vertically and horizontally are provided with first and second electrodes. In a particulate matter (“PM”) sensor in which a PM deposit quantity of the DPF is detected by a capacitance of a capacitor formed by the first and second electrodes, among open cells, the first electrodes are inserted into the open cells arranged in a line in a diagonal direction, and the second electrodes are inserted into the open cells arranged in a line in the diagonal direction and including the open cells secondarily adjacent to each of the open cells into which the first electrodes are inserted.

Abstract: A random number generating device includes a processing request part, a receiving part, a counting part, and a random number generation part. The processing request part makes a request for a predetermined processing to a processing requested object. The receiving part receives a response from the processing requested object in response to the request. The counting part performs a counting operation to increase or decrease a count value with a predetermined cycle, the counting operation being started at least prior to receipt of the response. The random number generation part acquires at least one count value of the counting part at least one predetermined acquisition timing after the receipt of the response is started, and generates a random number by using the at least one count value that is acquired.

Abstract: A battery pack for a motor-driven appliance comprises a battery including a plurality of cells, a cell discharge unit that discharges each cell individually, a voltage detection unit that detects each cell voltage, a target cell determination unit, and a discharge control unit. When at least one cell having the cell voltage equal to or smaller than a specified threshold is present, the cell voltage that is the smallest among them is set as a smallest cell voltage, and when at least one other cell having the cell voltage larger than the smallest cell voltage by a defined value or more or having the cell voltage larger than the threshold by the defined value or more is present, the target cell determination unit determines the at least one cell as a target cell, and the discharge control unit causes the target cell to be discharged by the cell discharge unit.

Abstract: An exhaust gas purification device includes a diesel particulate filter (DPF) that collects particulate matter (PM) from an exhaust gas, a urea water spray unit that sprays urea water into the exhaust gas, a selection catalytic reduction (SCR) device that reduces and purifies NOx of the exhaust gas, a capacitance detecting unit that detects capacitance of the DPF, a PM accumulation calculating unit that calculates an amount of accumulated PM on the basis of the capacitance, an NO2 consumption estimating unit that calculates an amount of consumed NO2 on the basis of the amount of accumulated PM, and a control unit that controls an engine such that a ratio of NO to NO2 flowing into the SCR approaches 1:1 on the basis of the estimated consumption.

Abstract: A particulate matter measuring device includes: a diesel particulate filter (DPF) in which upstream side and downstream side openings of multiple cells partitioned by porous partition walls are alternately plugged; a pair of first electrodes received in a pair of first electrode cells arranged diagonally with a central cell therebetween; a pair of second electrodes received in a pair of second electrode cells arranged diagonally with the central cell therebetween; a first connecting member for connecting the first electrodes to each other; a second connecting member for connecting the second electrodes to each other; and a unit that calculates an amount of particulate matter trapped in the DPF on the basis of capacitance between the electrodes. The four cells which are adjacent to each other around the partition walls of the central cell and sandwiched between the first electrode cells and the second electrode cells are used as measurement cells.

Abstract: A particulate matter (PM) measuring device including a diesel particulate filter (DPF) that has a plurality of cells plugged alternatingly at upstream and downstream sides. The cells are compartmentalized by porous partition walls. At least one of the cells is a measurement cell. The device also includes a pair of electrodes inserted from the non-plugged side in a pair of cells that oppose each other sandwiching the measurement cell. The device also includes a PM accumulation amount calculating unit that calculates an amount of accumulated PM, which is collected in the DPF, on the basis of the capacitance between the electrodes. The electrodes include conductive wire cores that are covered with insulating layers.

Abstract: An exhaust gas purification device includes a diesel particulate filter (DPF) that traps particulate matter (PM), an exhaust gas temperature sensor that detects temperature of an exhaust gas, an electrostatic capacity detection unit that detects an electrostatic capacity of the DPF, an accumulated-amount estimation unit that estimates an amount of PM accumulated in the DPF on the basis of the electrostatic capacity, and a filter regeneration unit that can perform forced regeneration. On the basis of an accumulated-amount threshold that is lower than an upper PM accumulation limit, and a temperature threshold at which the accumulated PM can still be burned and removed even if an amount of fuel supply is reduced, the filter regeneration unit performs the forced regeneration if the amount of accumulated PM has reached the accumulated-amount threshold and the exhaust gas temperature reaches the temperature threshold.

Abstract: An exhaust gas purification device for an internal combustion engine, wherein an amount of fuel supply during a forced regeneration is optimized, and a fuel efficiency is effectively improved. The device includes a filter in an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine for collecting particulate matter in an exhaust gas, an electrostatic capacity detecting unit that detects an electrostatic capacity of the filter, and a filter regenerating unit that supplies fuel to the filter and executes a forced regeneration to burn and remove the particulate matter in the filter. The filter regenerating unit stops supplying fuel when a rate of decrease in the detected electrostatic capacity per predetermined period of time reaches or falls below a predetermined lower threshold, which indicates a drop in burning efficiency of the particulate matter, while the forced regeneration is being executed.

Abstract: An exhaust gas purification device includes a diesel particulate filter (DPF) for capturing particulate matter (PM) in an exhaust gas, a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) device for reducing NOx in the exhaust gas, detecting units for detecting the DPF electrostatic capacity, an estimating unit for estimating the inside temperature of the DPF based on the electrostatic capacity, and a controlling unit for executing forced DPF regeneration. A lower limit temperature is defined as a temperature to trigger PM combustion, and an upper limit temperature is defined as a temperature to avoid filter erosion.

Abstract: A battery for an electric tool includes at least one battery cell, a peripheral device operable to detect a battery condition of the at least one battery cell, and a microcomputer communicating with the peripheral device. The microcomputer periodically operates the peripheral device for detecting the battery condition during the time when the battery is not electrically connected to the electric tool.

Abstract: A main body of a motor-driven appliance is configured such that a plurality of battery packs are attachable thereto. Each of the battery packs contains a battery. The main body of the motor-driven appliance acquires, from each of the plurality of battery packs, discharge capacity information indicating a discharge capacity of the contained battery. The main body of the motor-driven appliance sets at least one control parameter to control discharge from a power source to a motor, in accordance with at least the discharge capacity information of a battery with a lowest discharge capacity, among the acquired respective discharge capacity information.

Abstract: A battery pack for electric power tool is provided with a battery and a control circuit. The circuit includes a condition satisfaction determination unit, a continuation satisfaction determination unit, and a sleep-mode transition unit. The condition satisfaction determination unit determines whether each of at least one predetermined sleep-mode transition condition is satisfied, and determines whether an all-condition satisfaction state is present, which is a state wherein all of the at least one sleep-mode transition condition are satisfied. The continuation satisfaction determination unit determines whether the all-condition satisfaction state has continued for a predetermined period of time when the condition satisfaction determination unit determines that the all-condition satisfaction state is present.

Abstract: An internal temperature estimation unit, which reads a detected temperature of a cell of a battery for an electric power tool to estimate an internal temperature of the battery based on the detected temperature, includes: an initial-value setting device which reads, when a discharge/charge of the battery is started, the detected temperature and sets the detected temperature as an initial value; and a temperature increase amount calculation device which calculates a temperature increase amount of the cell of the battery based on a latest value of the detected temperature and the initial value set by the initial-value setting device; the internal temperature estimation unit outputs the temperature increase amount as an estimated value representing the internal temperature of the battery.

Abstract: Disclosed is a magnesium alloy material having excellent tensile strength and favorable ductility. Therefore, the magnesium alloy sheet material formed by rolling a magnesium alloy having a long period stacking order phase crystallized at the time of casting includes in a case where a sheet-thickness traverse section of an alloy structure is observed at a substantially right angle to the longitudinal direction by a scanning electron microscope, a structure mainly composed of the long period stacking order phase, in which, at least two or more ?Mg phases having thickness in the observed section of 0.5 ?m or less are laminated in a layered manner with the sheet-shape long period stacking order phase.

Abstract: A battery pack of an electric power tool comprises ten lithium-ion cells. The ten lithium-ion cells are connected in series. Each lithium-ion cell has a diameter equal to or less than 18 millimeters, a length equal to or less than 65 millimeters, and an internal resistance equal to or less than 30 milliohms. Because the battery pack has a high voltage in operation and is therefore able to supply large current, the battery pack is preferably configured incapable of being used in a conventional electric power tool that cannot operate under such a large current.

Abstract: An electrically-driven working apparatus in one aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a battery; an abnormality detection unit; a power supply path; a first disconnection unit; a second disconnection unit; and a control unit. The control unit activates the first disconnection unit to disconnect the power supply path if either of an overload or an over discharge of the battery is detected by the abnormality detection unit, and subsequently determines whether discharge from the battery has stopped after activating the first disconnection unit, and activates the second disconnection unit to disconnect the power supply path if discharge from the battery has not stopped.

Abstract: A battery connection device is provided with an authentication data creating unit that creates authentication data, a conversion unit that performs a first conversion of the authentication data, a transmission unit that transmits the authentication data to a battery pack, a receiving unit that receives from the battery pack a battery-side conversion result that is data obtained after the authentication data is converted by the battery pack, a reverse conversion unit that, on an assumption that the battery pack creates the battery-side conversion result by performing the first conversion and a second conversion on the authentication data, performs a reverse conversion of the second conversion on the battery-side conversion result, and a determination unit that determines whether or not the battery pack is an authentic product by comparing a result of the reverse conversion with a result of the first conversion.

Abstract: A battery pack for an electric power tool includes a control device that determines the necessity of a balancing control to reduce difference in voltages of cells of a battery based upon voltages of the respective cells measured by a voltage measuring device. The control device controls a subject cell, which is subject to the balancing control to discharge via the discharging device when the balancing control is determined to be necessary. A voltage measuring device measures the voltages of the respective cells when a battery charger detecting device detects the connection of the battery charger in a state where the battery has not been connected to the battery charger for a predetermined specified period of time or more and power feeding to the electric power tool has not been performed for the specified period of time or more.

Abstract: A battery pack of an electric power tool comprises ten lithium-ion cells. The ten lithium-ion cells are connected in series. Each lithium-ion cell has a diameter equal to or less than 18 millimeters, a length equal to or less than 65 millimeters, and an internal resistance equal to or less than 30 milliohms. Because the battery pack has a high voltage in operation and is therefore able to supply large current, the battery pack is preferably configured incapable of being used in a conventional electric power tool that cannot operate under such a large current.